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bergamini

Pic 29 Months Post Tummy Tuck & A Few Oldster's Thoughts

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I've been negligent in posting a recent tummy tuck pic. Here it is! I had my sleeve on 11/30/2012 and TT on 10/22/13. I had a very fast functional recovery. But oh the pinkness. I was pink for years! It is still lightly pink. I presume part of that is because I'm fair skinned. But it was a bit frustrating looking like I had been cut in half for a few years. I was a bit self-conscious. It is much improved now.

I've seen a lot of women who have had TT and a few of them have been fair and didn't have as much pinkness as I did. The thing is that I normally heal quite well and rapidly. My surgeon said men sometimes have a slower visual recovery because of body composition differences. I was running within 2.5 weeks and doing core work within a month of my TT so I can't complain that it limited my life. I would also do it again. I'm just glad it's a bit more tolerable now.

I did recently go through some laser light treatments on the incision and am going through a 3 month course of Bio-Oil as well. I hope that also kick starts it to completely fading away.


For those that know about my hip replacement, it went well. I was on the elliptical within 10 days. I'm 3 months post-op now and back to running, Pilates, long bike rides, boot camp, etc. I seem to recover after workouts a bit more slowly than before surgery but I'm guessing that's just a normal sign of a healing body. I really am having a fantastic recovery for such a major orthopedic procedure. The good news is that the right hip looks great so hopefully that won't need to get replaced 35 years early as well!

I've been trying to contribute a bit back to the boards by answering some questions. It's very interesting to see. Because the procedure has been around longer now, I see some more confidence which can be good and bad. I was so terrified about everything that I was a saint the first few months post-op living in fear that my sleeve would leak if I abused it. I don't see much of that now.

I will harp on again that it is much harder at 3 1/4 years than it was out of the gate. I had several sleeve "heros" whom I followed that I now can see on MFP, my Facebook feed or here that have had massive regain. That's why it kind of irks me when I see the "GONE FOREVER" signatures, etc. I've seen plenty where it wasn't gone forever. The first 9-12 months are a real gift but the sleeve settles in and capacity is way different. If you saw me eat you would think I had a fairly normal appetite. I don't graze but I can easily get 2K calories in at my regular meal times.

So far so good for me though. I feel that this battle is often won and lost at the grocery store. There are no crackers, cookies, chips or even bread in my house. The sweets are more like Dole Banana Dippers and frozen yogurt bars. I do buy the high fiber English Muffins as they help fill me up and keep things moving. My one vice is cheese and I can live with that. Oh yeah, my other vice is night eating and I work around it by having a small breakfast (3 eggs) and lunch (usually sandwich meat and cheese) and then snack on veggies. When I get naughty at night, then at least I will only have had 600-800 calories during the day so I can afford it.

I'm still glad I did the surgery for sure but I hope anyone relatively new reading this understands that the grace period is the first ~ 9 months and do your best then, because the capacity grows and your metabolism slows. That first year was SO EASY compared to year 3. It saddens me to see people who had the freedom of new bodies and lose it. I'm terrified it's me.

As for working out, I definitely think that the losing phase is mostly about eating. But, for me, maintaining is greatly enhanced by working out. If I eat 2-2.5K calories per day and am working out 7-10 hours per week, I'm going to maintain if not lose a few lbs. It just makes everything easier. Also, it makes everything more toned which is a big deal after a body transformation.

Are people struggling with acid? I have a slight problem with it. I have a family genetic cancer link so I have to get an endoscopy every 3 years. They said I had very minor erosion from acid that could be healed within a few weeks on acid reducer, so I take Prilosec now. I'm FB friends with a pretty crazy VSG patient who is converting to gastric bypass because of, allegedly, the acid. I think it's because she's vain and has regained, but that's a whole other story. I'd rather take a Zantac or Prilosec every day than have to deal with the side effects of bypass.

Anyway, cheers. Hope everyone is doing well and that I don't seem bitter to the newbies, but I want to prepare you for the long haul

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Comments

  1. Ms. Jupiter's Avatar
    Thank you for sharing this. It is good to see you posting again.
    It sounds like life it treating you well.
    I am glad you're back!!
  2. dxgolsen's Avatar
    Thank you! What a great recovery!
  3. bangieb's Avatar
    Thanks for the update, you look great!
  4. Merry Mary's Avatar
    You seem to have the right attitude and every obstacle thrown your way (hip replacement) is just a detour toward your ultimate goal; healthy and fit. Great job and keep up the good work
  5. jennak89's Avatar
    Wow, look at you, looking good.
  6. Ann2's Avatar
    Righteous post, Bergamini. Congrats on all your triumphs.

    Thank you!